MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

8/3 Safe at home

Koyie Hill had yet to see Monday’s collision at home plate between Cleveland catcher Carlos Santana and Boston rookie Ryan Kalish. Santana’s left leg is bent back at a freakish angle. It’s part of the job, Hill said.

On Aug. 17, 2004, Hill fractured his right ankle in a collision at home with Pittsburgh’s Ty Wigginton and underwent surgery 10 days later. Hill can recall the entire play.

“I was blocking the plate,” Hill said Tuesday. “I didn’t give him much real estate to slide on. I was trying to stop him from scoring, too. I didn’t have the ball. If he would’ve slid, he would’ve been safe. In my situation, I thought it was clean.

“It’s not an ugly part of the game but it’s a part of the game that is utilized to help the team win and sometimes it’s utilized for other reasons,” Hill said. “In my situation, I thought it was a fair play.”

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